SEABROOK, N.H. — December 15, 2013 — The day began at 5:30 a.m. on December 6, for Marc Schloss and 26 of his friends as they prepared for a cold, windy trip on the Atlantic Ocean.
Those friends Schloss gathered, from all over New England, New Jersey and New York, boarded a 90-foot fishing boat at Seabrook’s Eastman’s Docks on a hunt for Pollock. Each paid $100 for the adventure.
Why, you ask, would anyone want to be heading 30 miles out to open sea on a cold, windy and rainy day just a few weeks before Christmas?
Tradition
It’s a story that began about eight years ago when a man named Steve Thorsen thought it would be a good idea to go fishing with a bunch of friends, and donate the catch to a charity. The charity he held close to his heart was The New Hampshire Food Bank.
According to Schloss, Thorsen “loved the concept of being together fishing and giving it all away.” Thorsen chose the Friday before Thanksgiving each year to do the good deed; mostly because food would be in need for the upcoming holiday season.
Steve Thorsen died a few years ago, ironically, the night before one of their trips. But happily, Norwood, Mass., resident Schloss decided to pick up the torch and run with it. The 52-year-old sales manager now organizes the pilgrimage to Seabrook each year with his group of merry fishermen.
And the Tradition continues
John Viol is from Westchester, N.Y., and has been on every Food Bank fishing trip. According to Viol, the expedition, which is now held between Thanksgiving and Christmas, is conducted out of Seabrook because, “the Pollock are plentiful, and Pollock is the big draw. Holding the trip at this time works better because the colder water temperature makes for better fishing.”
Indeed, the Pollock were being hauled in so quickly that two or three of the 15 pound fish were landed at a time on multi-hook jigs. Viol had battle scars on each side of his face where fishing tackle got too close for comfort and broke the skin. He simply shrugs it off with a grin and says, “It was worth it.”
Read the full story at Foster's Daily Democrat